Advocates say workforce development begins at birth

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From left, Keith Sylvester, executive director for the Lenoir-Greene Partnership for Children; Laura Lee Sylvester, president of the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce; and Verna Gaff-Gessaman, of Graff Gessaman Consulting, talk about early childhood education at the Wake-Up Lenoir Executive Briefing on Early Workforce Development.

Published: Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 07:29 PM.

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Welcome to the world, baby girl — now we’re going to teach you to be a good worker.

According to education and business leaders at Thursday morning’s Wake-Up Lenoir Executive Briefing on Early Workforce Development, training tomorrow’s successful employee begins at birth.

“Oftentimes we don’t really think of, when I child is born, that is where workforce development starts,” said Keith Sylvester, executive director of the Lenoir-Greene Partnership for Children. “By the senior year in high school, by then, that cake is baked. We’ve got to get them very, very early.”

From birth to about the kindergarten age — 2,000 days — children’s brains speedily develop their neural network. During this time, they learn what’s called “soft skills,” a group of behaviors related to personal habits, personality and communications skills.

Lisa Finaldi, of the state Partnership for Children, showed a video to crowd explaining the biological process. Basically, reinforced, heavily used brain circuits are like broadband lines, while little-used circuits are like the dial-up modems of neurology. The circuitry matrix helps determine future behavior.

Some business leaders are finding it hard to fill jobs because applicants lack the skills that should be picked up as small children.

“You want a good-quality workforce, and oftentimes, it is a challenge to find those people,” said Randall Boehme, production division manager with Sanderson Farms.

Welcome to the world, baby girl — now we’re going to teach you to be a good worker.

According to education and business leaders at Thursday morning’s Wake-Up Lenoir Executive Briefing on Early Workforce Development, training tomorrow’s successful employee begins at birth.

“Oftentimes we don’t really think of, when I child is born, that is where workforce development starts,” said Keith Sylvester, executive director of the Lenoir-Greene Partnership for Children. “By the senior year in high school, by then, that cake is baked. We’ve got to get them very, very early.”

From birth to about the kindergarten age — 2,000 days — children’s brains speedily develop their neural network. During this time, they learn what’s called “soft skills,” a group of behaviors related to personal habits, personality and communications skills.

Lisa Finaldi, of the state Partnership for Children, showed a video to crowd explaining the biological process. Basically, reinforced, heavily used brain circuits are like broadband lines, while little-used circuits are like the dial-up modems of neurology. The circuitry matrix helps determine future behavior.

Some business leaders are finding it hard to fill jobs because applicants lack the skills that should be picked up as small children.

“You want a good-quality workforce, and oftentimes, it is a challenge to find those people,” said Randall Boehme, production division manager with Sanderson Farms.

He went on to explain on-site childcare at some of the Sanderson facilities in Mississippi allows children to receive glimpses of proper workforce behavior.

“That’s what we need, those simple things that they need to be a good employee the rest of their lives,” Boehme said.

Sylvester said the purpose of the early workforce development tour, which started with Thursday’s event in Kinston, is to explain to other business and community leaders the importance of investment in early childhood education.

Finaldi pointed out a group of military leaders — Mission Readiness — want to put effort into those 2,000 days because behaviors acquired during that time contributed to 75 percent of Americans aged 18-24 of being ineligible to serve in the military.

Another group, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, is a law enforcement organization with a similar focus.

“They know, first hand, that if kids get an early start, they are less likely to be involved in crime as a teenager or an adult,” Finaldi said. “So they have also prioritized early learning investments.”

Sylvester, who started working with young children in 1970, said he learned early of the importance of the work.